International news

U.S. demands Colombian rebels free American

DanMolinski

BOGOTA--The U.S. Embassy in Bogota on Saturday demanded the immediate release of a U.S. citizen kidnapped in Colombia by the country's main rebel group, one day after the guerrillas said they captured a former U.S. Navy veteran in the southern jungles.

Rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said in a statement Friday that they are holding hostage Kevin Scott Sutay, who they say was born in New York based on information they took from his passport. The rebels said Mr. Sutay is an explosives expert and said he informed them he fought in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011.

The FARC suggested Mr. Sutay may be still working for the U.S. military, perhaps as a contractor, and said he entered Colombia in early June after traveling south from Mexico and through several Central American countries. The rebels said that even though they have the "right" to hold Mr. Sutay as a prisoner of war, they plan to free him in the spirit of goodwill amid the rebels' nearly one-year-old peace talks with the Colombian government that are taking place in Cuba.

The embassy statement said Mr. Sutay "is a U.S. citizen without any current links to U.S. military forces... We condemn the kidnapping of this civilian and demand his quick release."

The FARC said the American was captured in the remote, southern state of Guaviare, not too far from Barrancon, a military river base that has long been known as a place where U.S. soldiers train their Colombian counterparts in antiguerrilla and antidrug tactics.

The FARC, which has been fighting a guerrilla war for nearly 50 years, has about 8,000 armed fighters and funds itself largely through drug trafficking, extortion and illegal gold mining. The group's stated aim is to overthrow the government so it can install a more socialist-style rule.

Three U.S. military contractors were held hostage by the FARC for six years before being rescued in 2008 in a secret operation led by the Colombian military that also freed a dozen other hostages, including a former Colombian presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt.

The FARC rebels said they have requested the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross and others to organize a way for them to liberate Mr. Sutay safely.

The embassy said U.S. authorities are working on the case alongside their Colombian counterparts.

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